AbstractsLaw & Legal Studies

Indonesia in the post Suharto era was marked by increasing ethno-religious and communal violence in several areas, such as: Ambon, Poso, North Luwu, Sampit, Mamasa, Aceh and Irian Jaya (Papua). According to the Violent Conflict of Indonesian Studies (ViCIS) that violent warfare in the six ' high conflict' provinces - Aceh, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, and West Papua ' have significantly declined since 2005 (the World Bank, 2010). However, although most violent conflicts have stopped, nothing guarantees they will not recur. This statement supported by some Indonesian post conflict studies that indicate post conflict communities are vulnerable to emerging violent disputes, especially in Maluku, North Maluku and Papua (the World Bank, 2010; Barron et al, 2012). Since most Indonesian post conflict studies were conducted in areas where reconciliation was unsuccessful, this study then propose a different approach that focuses on an Indonesian local government that has successfully maintained a peaceful environment, most notably the regency of North Luwu. This study investigated the substantial successful elements of the regency of North Luwu in mitigating violent conflict and implementing a dispute resolution program. Accordingly, the research questions are proposed as: How did the area of North Luwu return to a state of normalcy after years of violence and what was the role of government in this return to normalcy?. This research question is extended into two sub research questions, they are: What is good local governance in the context of conflict mitigation? ; To what extent did the regency of North Luwu apply good local governance to mitigate violent conflict?. This research is a descriptive case study. The assessment of the role of local government in violent conflict mitigation in this research is conducted in the form of qualitative method and the data is analyzed by interpretative approach. This study conveys the concept of good local governance in the context of conflict mitigation which is the grassroots government that has successfully developed a responsive partnership with all local actors, such as civil society organizations, traditional/community organizations, private sectors and individual citizens, that aim to promote peaceful surrounding which are determined by three main instruments, namely performance of local government, participation of citizens and partnership of local government with the community groups in defusing the likelihood of violent conflict (Jackson and Scott, 2007; Bigdon and Hettige, 2003; Romeo, 2002). This study indicates that the regency of North Luwu has effectively applied good local governance that is expected to have affected diminishing violent conflict, especially in performance and partnership elements. However, the element of citizen involvement in conflict mitigation is not sufficient because reconciliation process among citizens in post conflict areas is still in progress. The application of good local governance in the regency of North Luwu is…